Alltrip has tied up with STB to facilitate Chinese tourists in Singapore.
Alitrip might soon help more independent and free Chinese travellers to visit Singapore. Alibaba’s travel unit ‘Alitrip’ proclaimed a partnership with the tourism sector and Singapore Tourism Board here on January 8, 2016.
The tie up is the travel platform’s first contract with a destination overseas, with hotels, businesses, and airlines at tourist destinations to establish retail stores on its online marketplace. Resorts World Sentosa, apartment operator ‘Ascott’, and Six Stars Tours and Services already have stores on the webpage. Talks with Tigerair and Singapore Airlines are done.
Alibaba is also cooperating with restaurants, local malls, and duty free stores to give promotions and discounts. Its innovations, allowing tourists with a “high credit rating” to stay at lodgings without a deposit, would soon be launched there. With its huge data infrastructure, the online platform would also offer insights to affect STB and business marketing decisions. The cooperation is amongst those signed recently by STB, which is also collaborating with Chinese partners, including online review sites ‘Mafengwo’ and ‘Dianping’, and e-travel service provider ‘Tuniu’.
"Chinese visitors today are more sophisticated and discerning. They look for authentic and in-depth experiences that showcase the multifaceted character of Singapore," stated CTO of STB, Quek Choon Yang.
Past year, 63% of China’s visitors to Singapore were independent tourists. The travellers from China to Singapore reduced by 24% to 1.72 million from 2013 to 2015, following factors, such as formulation of Chinese aviation incidents and tourism law. However, the figure is rising. In past year’s first 10 months, some 1.8 million travellers came to Singapore, yearly growth of 21%. The second most populated country is also the second biggest contributor of international visitors to Singapore after Indonesia.
An official of Alitrip, Li Shaohua, said Singapore was selected as the first overseas collaborator due to a number of factors, such as streamlined visa processes, rich tourism resources, and the popularity of Alibaba’s travel services among China’s tourists.
In other news, Alitrip would help Ascot reach more than 100 million Chinese tourists who are presently using the traveller friendly platform. The Corporation’s global network of over 26,000 apartments would be offered through the e-travel platform by June in 2015.
CEO of Ascott, Lee Chee Koon said, “Ascott is delighted to be the world’s first serviced residence company to form this global partnership with Alitrip, China is the world’s second largest economy, and rising incomes are driving domestic travel and making it the world’s biggest outbound travel market.” The tie up between Alitrip and Ascott has followed the recent investment in e-apartment sharing company ‘Tujia.com’.
Such collaborations fuel Alibaba’s growth and expansion. South Asia is Ascott’s largest market. Therefore, this presents opportunity to both partners to boost their business.
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